Refrigerator



Oct. 11, 1938. Q F, BELSHAW y 2,132,602

NVENTOR ATTORNEYS c. F. BELSHAW REFR I GERAT OR Oct. 11, 1938.

Filed July 27, 1955 2 sheets-sheet 2 INVENTOR /mries E B @i5/75145 QN .RIN n E LU-WNQQ@ ATTORNEY Patented Oct. 11, 1938 UNITED VSTATELS PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATOR i l charles F. elshaw, Greenville, Mien.v Application July l8,27, 1935, serial Nojsaisv 9 claims.

(Cl.V 62-46) In refrigerators of various types now commonly section, of a refrigerator embodying my `inven. Y

in use wherein water ice is therefrigerating medium the rate.-of refrigeration (volume of ice melting'per unit of time) is not only dependent upon the rate oaf air circulation within thestructure but is also very largely dependent upon the current volume lof ice, the rate and extent of refrigeration varying directlywith the ice volume.

As a consequence temperature in the food com- 10A partment varies greatly between icing periods and, unless icing periods` are much too short to be commercially'practicable (not only from the standpoint of convenience but of expense) the refrigerating temperatures are much too low mmediately following icing and these temperatures gradually rise to an 4ultimate undesirable degree before a supplementing icing.

It has long beenwell known that substantially uniformity of refrigeration temperatures is highlyrdesirable in various, regions of a household refrigerator and the ability of mechanical refrigerating mechanisms to maintain such uniformity, as well as the lack of periodic visits of the ice man, has been largely responsible for the phenomenal adoption of mechanical refrigerators in spite ofthe well recognized and largely unavoid-V able destructive dehydrating effect of such refrigeration on many foods. s v The object of my present invention isto produce a refrigerator of the water-ice type of such construction that, while it may receive, at a single charging, a supply of water ice suiicient to adequately refrigerate during an abnormally long period, substantially uniform refrigerating tem- Vperatures may be maintained in various regions of the refrigeratinglcompartments irrespective of the currentV volume of the water ice, so .that said refrigerating temperatures will at no time be too low or too high whether the icevolume be maxi- 40 mum or nearly exhausted.

More specifically the objectof my invention is t'o provide an efficient refrigerator of the waterice type of such construction Athat the rate of refrigeration will be independent of the volume of the refrigerantA so. long as said volume exceeds a comparatively lowrminimum.

f A further object of my invention is to provide a structure such that, the diminution contour .of the refrigerant will result-in substantially level subsidence ofthe upper surface of the refrigerant so that recharging with large block refrigerant may be readily accomplished. n

The 'accompanying drawings illustrate my invention. y y k Fig. l is afront elevation, in partial vertal tion;`

Fig. 2, a medial front-to-back vertical section; Fig. 3, a fragmentary section, in the plane of Fig. 2, on a larger scale; Fig. 4, a section on line 4?-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5, a section on line 5-5 of Fig. 3; and, v Fig. 6, a perspective of the drip-pan air-baille structure.v

In the drawings l0 indicates the main shell of the` refrigerator constructed, in a well-known manner,v of walls adequately heat-insulated and having a charging opening l0 closed by door I0. At approximately the lower level of opening lll.'y I provide front and rear ledges 15, 16 which support the novel ice container now to be described. Thisice container comprises the rear wall 8D and two flanking side walls 8| arranged opposite the opening I il' and spaced from the adjacent vertical walls of th-e shell l0. The lower edges of walls 8lland 8| are separably supported'upon the upper end of a hopper-like structure comprising the yforwardly and downwardly-inclined rear plate 82; the rearwardly and downwardly inclinedl front plate 83; the side walls 84 having the upwardly and outwardly-flared yintermediate portions 84'; and the bottom rods;Y 85 the ends of vwhich are oppositely upwardly inclined and at,-

tached respectively to the lower edges of the plates 82 and 83'.

The interior of the shell l0 is preferably lined lwith, a linerof porcelain-enameled Vsheeting 86 the/side walls of which are conveniently spaced from shell I 0, as shownin Fig. 1, by rigid heat insulation'X.

Secured to each of the side walls of liner 86, slightly above the level of the lower edges'of plates 82 and 83, is a depending plate 81, the major portionk of which isI spaced from the liner A86, andconnecting the upper portions of the rear wardlyeinclined baffle plate 88 spaced from and downwardly converging toward the upwardly and i inwardly inclinedportions of rods 85, the upperv edge of plate 88 being preferably slightly above the lower edg'e'of plate 82 and its lower edge being preferably somewhat above the apexes of rods and slightly downturned, as shownin Fig. 2.

Pivoted at 90 from plates81 is aldouble drip pan comprising the spaced and substantially parallel. pan bottoms 9i and 92,v respectivelyassociated with pan sides 9 l 92 and lower end walls 9|, 92". 'I'he upper end of this pan structure isI normally supported by a spring latch 93 in Such position that bottom 9| slightly converges,

Latch 93 is pivoted at 93 on the side wall 92A of pan 92 (Fig. 6) and its free end is notched to engage the front end of the horizontal ledge of plate 81.

Release of latch 93 permits dropping of. the drip pan structure to facilitate cleaning.

Drainage from bottom 92 is through a tube 94 and drainage from bottom 9| is through a tube 95 which is sleeved within tube 94 and the two tubes deliver into the funnel 96 at'the upper end of an appropriate water-sealed drainage tube 91.

When the drip pan structure is in operative position as shown in'Figs. 2 and 3, the upwardly and 'forwardly inclined lower edges of the walls 81 lie in troughs |80 between the side walls of the two pans.

The two bottoms 9| and 92 are spaced apart so that an air current may be established between theseV two bottoms tof minimize sweating on the under face of the lower bottom 92.

`Depending from the upper edge vof plate 88 (integral therewith if desired), and extending between'the rear edges of platesl 81, is a bale plate spaced from and substantially parallel with rear wall 86.

Damper |20 is pivotally supported at its upper edge by the friction hinge |2| below plate 83 and extends from ledge into the upper open end of the upperdrippan so as to overlie bottom 9| and is therefore adjustableto adjust the throat between the forward upper region of the refrigeration chamber and the upper end of the front ends of rods 85.

When the refrigerant chamber is filled with ice, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, the warmer air in the refrigeration chamber rises in two well defined currents, one through passage |22 behind baille and thence downwardly and forwardly between plate 88 and the ice body, and the other into mouth of the upper drip pan and thence downwardly and rearwardly between the bottom of said pan and the ice body.

The ice, in melting, forms fins |23 which project between the rods 85. Y

In order to provide'the maximum storage space in the refrigeration chamber, the apeXes of bars 84 lie somewhat to the rear'of the transverse median plane of the refrigeration 'chamber and therefore the rear arms of bars 85 lie at a steeper angle than the front arms of said bars and, as plates 82 and 83 are most conveniently to be placed in alignment with the ends of the bars which are attached thereto, plate 82 is at a` steeper angle than plate 83.

The heating effect of the steeper plate 82 per unit of horizontal dimension of the contactingV portion of the ice body is, therefore, greater than the same heating effect of less steep plate 83 and it would'appear that consequently the melting of the rear shoulder of the ice body resting on plate 82 would be more rapid and would permit a rearward tilting of the ice body. But

the volume of air owing across the under surface of plate 83 is greater per unit of time than that flowing across plate 82 and the temperature of the warm air flowing beneath plate 83 is the higher (because of the leakage through the access door), so that lack of inclination of plate 83 is compensated by the greater rate of heat transferred to said plate. In fact, such compensation may be too much and plate 83 is therefore guarded by bale so that the effects of plates 82 and 83 on the ice body in contact therewith are balanced so as to insure substantially vertical subsidence of the ice body considered as a Whole.

The ice body is, in part, supported by bars 85, and baffles 88 and 9| are so placed (Fig. 3)

that fins |23 of ice are developed, portions of said ns depending between the bars 85 as indicated; The throat Z between the apexes of bars S5 and pan 9| being somewhat Yconstricted causes the warm air to erode the ice between the` barsY Yin the immediate neighborhood of Vsaid apexes (as shown in Fig. 4), the fins and grooves thereby increasing severalfold the area of ice exposed at the lower end of the ice body and it is this largely increased ice area which bears at all tirn,es,fa lrnof water at 32 F. (which is actually the refrigerant contacted by the air currents) which serves `to scrub the warm air currents and extract therefrom undesirable odors, as well as to furnish increased heat-absorbing area.

The primary purpose of the above described proportioning of parts is to insurejmaintenance of ice contact with all of plates 82, 83 and 84 so long as there is any substantial body of ice above the plane of the lower edges of said plates. Y The melting which occurs asa result of contact with plates `82 and 83 Yoccurs at a `temperature somewhat below 3277 F. (due to pressure developed by the ice load) and there is some fin accretion, immediatelysubjacent the lower edges of these plates, dueto refreezing.

Melting due to contact `with plates 82 and 83 is` relatively slow but vertical diminution of the ice body above plate 82 is more rapid than above plate 83, due to the difference of inclinations of these plates. Y

The major portion 'of ice Amelting therefore occurs in the Zone of bars 85, and, as stated above, the most rapid rate of melting occursV above and forwardly of the apexes of said bars.

As a consequence of this construction the total area of ice ,subjected to heat transfer conditions remains substantially constant so long as the ice body extendsV to any extent above the Zone of the lower edges of plates 82, 83, and consequently the refrigeration efficiency remains substantially constant irrespective of the Volume of refrigerant.

In fact, the efficiency curve will not begin to drop until some little time after the ice body has become depleted `below the zone W because, when depletion results inV air gaps at the lower edges of plates 82, 83 a greater area of ice becomes exposed to warm air, thereby accelerating depletion. Ice depletion toI this extent should be avoided as far as possible if the highest degree of em'ciency is desired. Charging of additional refrigerant preferably should occur by the time the upper surface of the ice body is about in the plane of the upper edges of the inclined plates 82, 83 because at that time Athe upper surface of the ice body is low enough toi per-mit the insertion of an ice block of maximum size through the` charging opening |0'.

It will be understoodthat the main shell may y be. provided with a top chargingV opening, instead Cil modifying refrigeration;

Adjustment ofdamper I 20 permits control of icen melting to insure a substantially level Ysubsidence of the ice.

of vthe frontr charging opening shown, withcut It will be'A noted that the imperforate plates 82y and 83 are narrow as compared with the Vdistance between the facing edges thereof and that the' upwardly converging arri-is of the rods 85 bridge the space betweenV said facing edges, said 'space having a horizontal dimension which is considerably greater thanthe horizontal extent of either one of the plates,

It willlalso be noticed that the plates 84 connect the ends of plates 82 and 83 and that these four converging plates form a hopper-like support for a block of ice of commercial dimension throughout the major portion ofthe melting period, so that tilting of the ice block, during its descent due to melting is prevented. Tlrie ice block, resting on these four converging plates, forms an air seal which prevents upward warm air currents entering the ice box, above the level of the lower edges of these plates, and this arrangement insures a non-tilting descent of the ice body.

By this arrangement, I provide an ice supporting basket which provides for the automatic continuous presentation, to warm `air currents arising from the refrigeration chamber, of a definitely limited area of ice surface which is subject to the direct action of the warm air currents from the time the refrigerant chamber is fully charged until the ice is nearly exhausted.

The relative proportions of imperforate plate area, and direct ice-body exposure, due to the spaced rods 85, should be such (as indicated in the drawings) that the directly-exposed ice area will be adequate for the degree of refrigeration desired in the refrigeration chamber, and such that the rate of ice-melting, in the vertical zones above the imperforate side plates 82, 83 k(due primarily to heat conduction through said plates) will be such that the basket, formed by the rods 85, will be substantially iilled with ice so long as there is ice enough for vthat purpose.

Figures 2 and 3 are substantially scale drawings and with this information, as well as the preceding description, any refrigeration engineer, with knowledge common in they art, will have no diiculty in arriving at effective proportions for Vdifferent sizes of main shells.

This application is a continuation, in part, of applicants companion application, Serial Number 710,207, filed Feb. 8, 1934, which has matured into Patent 2,064,515.

The term annular as used herein to designate the ice-supporting elements 82, 83, 84 is intended to designate a collar-like structure dening an exit opening for defining the 'size and shape of a depending portion of ice extruded therethrough from a main body or block of ice which, so long as there is any portion thereof above the plane of said exit opening, will be supported on said annular structure by contact be tween the ice block and annular structure of such character as to block air now, immediately adjacent the upper portion ofthe ice block, between the upper and lower chambers of the refrigerator shell.

It will be readily apparent, from the above disclosure, that the mechanism which has been disclosed is in the nature of an air cooling and conditioning apparatus, the advantages of which are not necessarily confined tolthatblass ofde vicesV ordinarily referred to as refrigerators, i. e., devices for the 'reception and preservation of foods, and I therefore wish itrunderstood that the term refrigerator in the claims may appropriately be considered of suchscopeto include any device where a heat 'surrendering' air current is caused to iiow over the exposed "surface of a region`and a closable-.opening leading into its Y.

lower region, and a comparatively-narrow inwardly-projecting completely-annular shelf i arranged within the shell intermediate said upper and lower regions, the arrangement being such that, a block of water ice (of larger cross dimensions than the opening dened by the inner periphery of said annular shelf) being supported on said shelf, the contact between said shelf and ice will block air flow from the lower shell r-egion to the upper shell region through said opening and the resultant melting of the ice will result in the downward extrusion of an ensmalled lower portion of the ice block through the opening defined by said shelf, sufficient to maintain effective refrigeration.

2. A refrigerator of the character specified in claim 1, wherein the annular shelfv is downwardly and inwardly inclined.

3. A refrigerator of the character specified in claim 1 and including air bailles' arranged below the plane of the opening defined by the annular shelf so as to direct downwardly-flowing air currents against the extruded portion of the ice body.

4. A refrigerator of the character specied in claim 1 and including laterally spaced downwardly-converging bars below the plane ofr the opening defined by the annular shelf, said bars serving to support the remnants of ice blocks which have ensmalled to dimensions less than the dimensions of the opening defined by the innery periphery of the annular shelf.

5.V A refrigerator of the character specified in claim 1 and including laterally spaced downwardly-converging bars below the plane of the opening defined by the annular shelf, Vand also including downwardly-converging air bailles .flanking said bars, said bars serving to support the remnants vof ice blocks which have ensmalled to dimensions less than the dimensionsl of the opening defined by the inner periphery of the annular shelf.

6. A refrigerator of the character specified in Vclaim 1 wherein the annular shelf is downwardly funnel shaped and is supplemented, below the plane of the opening formed thereby, by downwardly-converging laterally-spaced bars, said bars serving to support the remnants of ice blocks which have ensmalled to dimensions less than the dimensions of the opening defined by the inner periphery of the annular shelf.

'7. A refrigerator of the character specied in claim 1 wherein the annular shelf is downwardlyv funnel shaped and is supplemented, below the plane of the opening formed thereby, by downwardly-converging laterally-spaced bars, and also including downwardly-converging air bales flanking said bars, said bars serving to support the remnants vof ice blocks which have ensmalled to dimensions less than the dimensions of the lll opening dened by the inner v'periphery of the annular shelf 8. A refrigerator comprising a main shell having a closable opening into its upper portion and a closable opening into its lower portion through the front wall, an ice support supported within the shell in the Zone between the two closable openings, a downwardly and rearwardly inclined air-baiing drip-pan pivotally supported near its lower rear end, and releasable means normally supporting the upper forward end of said drippan, whereby the drip-pan may beV swung down opposite the lower opening to expose its upper surface for cleansing.

9. In a refrigerator the combination with the main shell having upper and lower closable open-V ings and an ice-support in an intermediate zone, of an air-baiing unit comprising side plates attached at their upper ends to opposite side walls of the shell and their major lower portions inwardly spaced from the side walls of the shell, ar downwardly and forwardly `inclined. air baille spanning the distance between the side plates at the rear thereof, a drip-pan air-baffling structure pivotally supported from the lower rear corners of the side plates, and releasable means for normally supporting said drip-pan in an upwardly and forwardly inclined position opposite the lower closable opening.

Y CHARLES F. BELSHAW. 

